Kenya’s digital economy has received a lot of praise in the media, most recently emanating from the political class. President William Ruto’s infamous “Finya computer, weka dollar kwa mfuko” during the launch of an ICT hub in Tongaren, Bungoma County caused uproars among the netizens, who fundamentally questioned the literal meaning of the President’s comments. However, even prior to the President’s comments, a good number of young people have heard stories of people earning a lot of money by participating in the digital economy. Actually, “participating in the digital economy” is a formal statement for “finya computer, weka dollar kwa mfuko”.
Some young people who are not familiar with the digital economy think that once you have a laptop and internet connectivity then you are good to go. You press your keyboard and money flows to your bank account. Or that someone on the internet will give you a portal where you can do some tasks and earn money in return. The latter statement seems closer to reality but does not paint a full picture of how the digital economy works.
Have you ever asked yourself who are these people who are working online? What’s their educational background? What do they do daily at work? And what are their job titles? It turns out that they are people in our midst who work in well-known sectors of our economy – in hospitals, universities, the public sector, and the private sector. In most cases, they went to college, albeit there is a mismatch between what they studied in college and their current IT-related jobs.
I have been a digital gig worker for more than seven years now. My portfolio comprises designing websites, building learning management systems for ICT programs, designing digital literacy curricula, consulting as a UX researcher, facilitating roundtable discussions and webinars, and facilitating digital literacy training programs in marginalized areas. I have worked with both grassroots organizations and international corporations.
My fellow youths have asked me to link them to similar digital opportunities. There is a prevailing notion that digital jobs are many and pay well. Maybe that’s true. But why haven’t the majority of jobless young people pursued this route? There must be a disconnect. Possibly, there is a misunderstanding of what digital jobs entail and how to prepare for them. Blanket political statements such as those made by the President may mislead young people into thinking that they just need a laptop and internet connectivity, forgetting about the most important parts of the puzzle.
Fundamentally, a digital economy relies on digital technology such as the internet to produce, trade, and consume goods and services. The emphasis should be put on “relies” so people can understand that the internet and laptops are only enablers in the process; knowledge, skills, and mindsets are required to drive this widely diverse industry. That is to say that a trained human resource is the key factor that causes this economy to thrive in all parts of the world.
Investment in learning the necessary skills to participate in this economy is the starting point. I started by learning the fundamentals such as parts of a computer and operating a computer. Depending on your areas of interest – computer programming, graphic design, web design, or entrepreneurship, among others – people specialize, just like in college.
This is only meant to whet your appetite. Don’t finish a three or six-month computer literacy program and expect to be paid lots of money. Otherwise, you will learn the hard way through experience, and nobody will give you work or employ you with these skills if you quote above entry-level market rates.
A lot of practice is required to gain experience and build a portfolio. And then more practice. Sooner or later you start to secure some work along the way. At this point, your main objective should remain to gain experience and build a portfolio from these inconsistent and low-paying works, or gigs as we are used to referring to them in the industry.
The maturity in the industry depends on your network, aggressiveness, and dedication to mastery; there is no time frame for when one can start bidding for, say, building a learning management system for a local college. But give yourself enough time to gain the necessary experience, build a strong portfolio, and work with established industry professionals, depending on your career path. In fact, apprenticing under an established industry professional (master) is highly recommended. It will quickly expose you to the industry’s inner workings, including negotiation, quotation, time and funds management, quality assessment, and networking.
For instance, a graphic designer may require a relatively shorter time compared to a full-stake developer.
Upon mastering the skills, building a portfolio, and apprenticing for some time, it is time to fully venture into the world of work. You may want to be employed by an organization or freelance by utilizing platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork. This depends on your risk appetite and the available opportunities. But the bottom line is that you have now mastered a digital skill and you can use it to provide value to an individual or organization and earn money in return. Now you are participating in the digital economy as a value creator.
This is the reality of digital work. It’s not about “kufinya computer na dollar inatoka”. You may be thinking that data scrapping or data entry jobs are essentially about dialing and clicking on your computer screen. It’s partially true. But are you aware of the long-term consequences on your health when working on some of these jobs and how much they are paid on average? Sama, one of the main providers of such jobs in the country has ongoing court cases, and their workers are paid below market rates.
Although this may be subjective, there are no specialized skills in data scrapping and entry. As a result, such jobs are susceptible to automation by emerging digital agents such as artificial intelligence. Secondly, there is not much room for growth in such kinds of jobs. Thirdly, and most importantly, such jobs do not foster self-fulfilment to workers.
Unless you just want to work to pay bills while being paid below-market-rate salaries then you may consider foregoing the roadmap that I have outlined above. However, if you are going to work at Sama to gain short-term experience in preparation for other specialized opportunities in artificial intelligence and data science fields then it can be understandable. But, as you can see, this requires you to be strategic and intentional.
In summary, to develop a career in the technology industry, you have to dedicate yourself to mastering specific technical skills. The government, on the other hand, should continue to focus on establishing ICT hubs in every ward to enable young people to gain relevant skills that will empower them to meaningfully participate in the burgeoning digital economy.
Significant investments in establishing technology training centers akin to Moringa School must be prioritized. This will create avenues for the youth to pursue meaningful careers in tech – as data scientists, computer programmers, graphic designers, web designers, and instructional designers, among many others.
Otherwise, the hype about digital jobs will continue to be highlighted in reports but its actual full realization and utilization will continue to remain a far-fetched dream for the majority of the young people.
